FLOOD FIGHT: Fleur Lanes Re-Opened, For Now

FLOOD FIGHT: Fleur Lanes Re-Opened, For Now

Crews reopened all lanes of Fleur Drive in time for rushhour traffic Friday evening.

The Raccoon River has been creeping closer to Fleur Drive over the last few days. Friday morning the city of Des Moines closed off curbside lanes of the road and placed sandbag wells there in an attempt to keep the water off the rest of the road.

The city will continue to work hard to keep the road open over the weekend.

The road is usually closed at 16.4 inches, but the city is taking measures to try to avoid a complete shutdown.

The Raccoon River was at 16.39 feet at 5p.m. Friday and is expected to crest early Saturday morning at 16.6 feet. That’s down considerably from the 18.2 feet crest that was originally forecast.

Crews are implementing a welling operation, which involves placing sandbags around the intakes on both sides of Fleur Drive to allow water to rise up inside the sandbag structures, instead of running onto Fleur Drive.

That could keep the road open even when the water rises 17 feet. If it goes over that Fleur Drive will need to close.

You can find a full list of Des Moines road and trail closures from flooding here.